It had been a refreshingly quiet week for the Five-0 team. Steve had sent everyone home and decided to check his email one last time before going home. He was praying things would stay quiet. He, Danny, Chin, and Kono had spent a couple of crazy weeks fighting one disaster after another and everyone was burned out. The break had been something they all needed.

Steve turned on the computer and started perusing through his email. One message from "MFreeman" immediately caught his attention and caused him to sit up a little straighter at his desk:

Steve,

I know it's been a long time (16 years to be exact) and I am probably the last person you expect to hear from again, but I need to see you. Please email me back or give me a call. It's important….Please don't say no.

Madison

She ended the email with her phone number. Steve read it through three more times. His head was spinning. Madison Freeman had been his girlfriend in high school. His first love. His first heartbreak. His first everything. They were the stereotypical couple with him being the football captain and her being on the cheerleading squad. They had dated their junior and senior years before Steve had been sent to the mainland after his mom died. John McGarrett had insisted that his children cut off all ties with everyone on the islands until things settled down. Steve hadn't been able to say goodbye to anyone. Not even his Maddie. The shock of his mother's death and then being separated from his father and Mary had sent Steve into an emotional tailspin. Being forced to leave without saying goodbye to Maddie had devastated him even more. He felt like he'd lost everything he had in a few short days.

After joining the Navy, Steve had tried to reach Maddie a few times after finding out she had moved to Los Angeles to go to college. She had never returned any calls from him and he had eventually let it go. He knew he had hurt her, but it hadn't been intentional. He had wanted so badly to explain why he had to leave the way he did, but she had never given him a chance. As a result, he had moved on as hard as it had been to do. Hearing from her out of the blue today stirred up emotions he had long since buried.

Picking up his cell phone, he quickly punched in her number. A few rings later, her voice mail came on asking him to leave a message. Just hearing her voice again made his heart beat faster.

"Maddie, Hi. It's Steve. Um…..I…uh….Yeah, I would love to see you." he stuttered. He took a deep breath and tried to compose himself, " Call me back and let me know when you'll be here. I can pick you up at the airport or whatever. Just let me know…Bye."

**************h50********h50

Madison Freeman came out of the gym and reached into her bag for her phone. Seeing she had missed a call, she cursed to herself. Damn, she'd missed Steve. She listened to his voice mail and felt the old familiar tug in her chest. His voice had deepened over the years, but he still sounded as sexy as ever. Back in high school, she had loved their late night phone conversations just so she could listen to him talk. He had always ended the calls by saying, "Goodnight, Maddie-girl. I love you." Hearing his voice again made her feel like the schoolgirl she had been so long ago.

She got into her car, fired up the engine, and started home. Once she was on the road, she hit the speaker phone button in her car to call him back. He answered almost right away.

"McGarrett." he answered in his typical greeting.

Maddie took a deep breath, "Hi, Steve. It's Madison."

There was a brief pause. "Maddie. Hi." his voice softened. "It's been a long time."

"I know. It's been too long." She paused before continuing, " Listen, I hate to impose on you all of a sudden after all these years, but I really need to see you. Could we get together tonight? " she sounded nervous which worried Steve.

"Tonight? You're in Hawaii?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. I came in late last night. I understand if you can't meet tonight. I mean, I know you probably need to give your wife some notice or something….but it's important. I need your help." She sounded almost desperate.

" It's no problem. I….uh….I'm not married….and Mary is living in L.A now, so it's just me." Madison was relieved but also surprised to hear that he wasn't married. "When and where do you want to meet?" he asked.

"As soon as possible, and you name the place."

"Okay. How about my place in an hour and a half. I'm still in the same house, so I'm easy to find."

"That would be great. I'll see you then." Maddie paused for a moment, "Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry it's been so long."

He didn't know what was going on, but it was good to hear her voice regardless. "Me, too." he smiled into the phone, "See you in an hour, Maddie girl." Hearing the familiar goodbye once again almost brought tears to her eyes.

After they hung up, she realized she was gripping the steering wheel in a grip so hard it had made her knuckles hurt.

. It's now or never. In a couple of hours both of our lives are going to change forever. Maddie thought to herself as she said a silent prayer that Steve would understand what she was about to do.

**********h50***********h50

Steve stared at the phone for a few moments after they hung up. He hadn't heard from Maddie in years and now she was back on the island. She wanted to see him. Said it was important. His stomach felt unsettled as it often did when he knew something was amiss. He finally shook his head as if to bring himself back to the present as he headed for his truck to go home.

Steve took a quick shower and thanked his lucky stars that the house was fairly clean. Danny thought his neatness was annoying, but in times like this Steve was happy the Navy had drilled it into him.

Before long, the doorbell rang. Steve ran his fingers through his hair one last time, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

Maddie. Sweet Maddie was at his door. They both stood still a few moments just staring at each other. She looked as beautiful as ever. Actually, even moreso in Steve's opinion. She had the same long brown hair, hazel eyes, and sweet smile that he remembered even though her smile was hesitant right now. Her teenage body had grown into a beautiful woman with curves that made him want to touch her again.

Steve was the first to break the silence. He smiled at her, "Maddie….You look great."

She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding in as she smiled back, "So do you."

A couple of awkward moments passed before Steve reached out to pull her into a hug. Dear God, how he had missed her.

He led her into the house and they exchanged some small talk for a few minutes sharing about their lives. She had gone to college. He had joined the Navy. She'd lost her mother a few years back and he told her briefly about losing his dad. She was a teacher. He was a cop.

After about 20 minutes of small talk, she seemed to tense up a little and get quiet as if she was afraid to go on.

Sitting beside her on the couch, Steve took her hand to try and calm her down. "Sooo…..Do you want to tell me what brings you here after all this time?" He looked at her encouragingly.

She looked tense. Nervous even. She stood up and started to pace as she kept her back to him. Not wanting to feel as if he was threatening her, Steve remained seated and willed her to open up to him.

"Maddie, what's going on?" he urged quietly.

She finally turned around and looked at him sadly. "There is one thing about my life I haven't told you yet."

She walked quickly over to her purse before pulling up a picture on her phone and handing it to him.

"This is my daughter, Stephanie." She took a deep breath, "Stephanie...McGarrett."

Steve looked up in disbelief. Stephanie McGARRETT?